The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) announced a Final Rule (FR) amending its existing Passenger Train Emergency Preparedness regulations.

The revisions make explicit that existing requirements for initial and periodic training, operational efficiency tests, and inspections of certain railroad personnel apply not only to on-board crewmembers and control center personnel, but also to the railroad’s emergency response communications center personnel, who communicate or coordinate with first responders during an emergency situation involving a passenger train.

The FR also clarifies that railroads must develop procedures that specifically address the safety of passengers with disabilities during actual and simulated emergency situations and also limits the need for FRA to formally approve certain purely administrative changes to approved emergency preparedness plans.